Twitch Says It’s Investigating Allegations of Sexual Harassment Against Streamers

Twitch has announced its investigating claims of abuse and sexual harassment against various streamers on its platform. In a blog post on June 24, the streaming site said its “reviewing each case that has come to light as quickly as possible, while ensuring appropriate due diligence as we assess these serious allegations.”

Twitch said its prioritizing the most severe cases and may issue permanent suspensions to accused streamers depending on the results of the investigations.

“In many of the cases, the alleged incident took place off Twitch, and we need more information to make a determination,” the blog post said. “In some cases we will need to report the case to the proper authorities who are better placed to conduct a more thorough investigation.”

In its blog post, Twitch commended the bravery of the people who’ve come forward and encouraged more people to do so. There’s a menu button just below every Twitch streamers subscribe button where anyone can file a report of misconduct anonymously. The company has promised to take those reports seriously and investigate them.

Twitch's blog did not say who is conducting the investigations, how, or what the company's standards are for banning partners outside of its public policy. VICE reached out to Twitch to find out how the investigations will take place, but did not immediately hear back.

Twitch is also reviewing its policies and looking to revise them.

“We have work underway including a review of our Hateful Conduct and Harassment policies, enhanced offensive username detection, improvements to AutoMod and our Banned Words list, and other projects focused on reducing harassment and hateful conduct,” it said in its blog post.

Accusations of harassment and sexual abuse are moving through the video game industry right now. The accused and the accusers come from every level of the industry—journalists, streamers, fans, programmers, and executives have been sharing stories of misconduct in the industry the past few days.

After the initial wave accusations, Twitch released a statement on Twitter saying it was “actively looking into the accounts concerning streamers affiliated with Twitch and will work with law enforcement where applicable.”